


Breaking Apart Around Me

by BigBadLittleRed



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Break Up, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, One Shot, Psychological Trauma, Spoilers for Season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-18 20:23:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3582705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigBadLittleRed/pseuds/BigBadLittleRed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>( Set just after "Bad Luck" )</p>
<p>After the fight with Juliette, Nick's in bad shape... He calls up the two people he trusts the most. Those that make him feel safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Okay so tonight's episode kicked in my writing motivation... Seriously, Juliette and Nick being apart makes me kinda happy? I'm sorry if anyone doesn't appreciate that.. But, I like Juliette, I just don't like her with Nick, ya feel? So this is my take on what I feel should happen right after the fight.)

Nick doesn't want to be scared of her, but it's instinct. It's something that chills his bones and locks up his chest, he tenses in fear when she comes near him... When she woges into that monstrous face, one of the only creatures that could do some serious damage to him with a flick of a hand. It's almost as if she's taunting him, calling his worst fears into the light and exposing him in the worst way possible.

 

She tells him to kiss her, then hisses at him that he can't even look at her. Scolds him for his instincts, touches his face with a cold and rotted hand. His legs want to run, so very badly. His rational mind though, tells him to stay. This is Juliette, she'd never hurt him. But in this emotional state, he's not sure what she's capable of... He really doesn't want to find out. She shoves past him, storming out with a jingle of her keys and purse.

 

He's still stood frozen in the middle of the room, eyes blinking back at the rapidly forming tears. His legs are shaking, he drops down to his knees. The pressure in his chest is really hitting him, he's sitting on his knees just trying to breathe but his lungs refuse to cooperate.

 

Nick can't stop thinking about it, the way she could just push him around. He was paralyzed with fear, she could have done anything to him.. What if she decides he's not worth putting up with? What if she's corrupted?

 

In a moment of desperation, of fear, he pulls out his phone. Hits number 1 on speed-dial.

 

"Hey, Nick. What's going on?" Monroe answers smoothly after two rings, he calms a little at his voice.

 

Monroe is safe, he's kind.. He's Nick's best friend.. He pulls in a couple of deep breaths, tears dripping down his cheeks.

 

"Nick?"

 

"S-She's a Hexenbiest.." It's the first thing that spills from his lips, voice shaky and waterlogged.

 

"What are you talking about? Nick, you okay?" Monroe sounds concerned, Nick wishes that cheered him up more than it did.

 

"I'm... No, not really... I don't.." He stammers, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. Where to begin?

 

"Nick, slow down... Just take a few breaths, where are you?" There's a murmur somewhere on the other side of the line, feminine, Rosalee probably.

 

"My place.." He falls back off his knees against the couch, feeling the events as of late catching up with him.

 

"Where's Juliette?" Monroe asks, Nick cannot believe that more tears spring into his eyes immediately. He stifles a sob and squeezes his eyes shut.

 

"She left..." He sniffs.

 

"Stay there, we're coming over." Monroe tells him, before hanging up.

 

-

 

Nick drops his phone onto the floor, wiping at his face. When he pulls his hands away, looking down at them, they're violently trembling.

 

"Pull it together.." He murmurs to himself, balling his hands into fists. But it's not that simple, all of his power he had was taken away with a simple argument. He feels helpless, defenseless.. Like the first day he found out about Grimms and Wesen.. When he started seeing these things, when Monroe attacked him and he could do nothing underneath that raw power.

 

He'd built his strength, became dangerous and unstoppable. And a Hexenbiest of but a week maybe took him apart with a few words and a simple touch. Nick sits on the floor for a good five minutes, just soaking everything in while trying to make himself stop shaking so badly to no avail.

 

There's a knock at the door, he can see the top of Monroe's head through the glass in the door.

 

"Nick?" Monroe calls, pounding on the door a little harder.

 

"Do you think he's hurt?" Rosalee murmurs to Monroe, he sighs.

 

"I hope not..."

 

Nick grabs onto the arm of the couch, pulling himself to his feet. He basically stumbles over to the door, grabs the knob and turns. He opens the door a little bit, leaning against the frame.

 

"Sorry for calling, I'm fine.." He mumbles, focusing on Monroe's soft looking sweater.

 

"Sure don't look it..." Monroe reaches out and pushes at the door gently, Nick backs away.

 

"What's going on? You have a fight with Juliette?" Rosalee asks, touching his shoulder gently.

 

"She's a Hexenbiest.." Nick whispers.

 

"What?!" They exclaim in unison, ushering him over to the couch to explain.

 

-

 

"She woged, and started just going off. I froze up, I couldn't help it.. She kept touching me, and I was completely helpless." He scrubs a hand down his face, letting out a shaky breath. Rosalee's hand is squeezing the back of his neck, Monroe's is rubbing across his back.

 

"I can't believe her.." Rosalee murmurs, hand moving up a little through the hair of his nape.

 

"She's upset... I'm terrified of her.." Nick sighs, dropping his head into his hands.

 

"I get that, but that doesn't mean she has a right to exploit your fears like that.. It's like.." Her voice trails off.

 

"Domestic abuse, really.." Monroe adds quietly.

 

"It's not domestic abuse, she was angry." The Grimm mutters.

 

"Nick, she knew you were uncomfortable... She verbally harassed you." Rosalee says with venom.

 

"I just want to forget about it..." Nick explains.

 

"I don't think it'll be so easy, man.. She's gonna come back eventually..." Monroe says softly.

 

"I know... I'll... I'll just have to get used to her..." He says shakily, twisting his hands together anxiously.

 

"Nick, don't push yourself into a situation you can't get out of... That's all I can say.." Rosalee whispers, petting at his hair.

 

"I have to try, don't I?" The younger murmurs.

 

"If that's what the both of you want." Monroe shrugs.

 

"We'll see..." Nick relents with a sigh.

 

"You gonna be okay?" Rosalee asks, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and squeezing him lightly.

 

"I um... Yeah.. I'll probably sleep on the couch tonight.. Juliette probably won't be back, but I don't think I can sleep in the bed right now.." He tells them quietly.

 

"Why don't you come back with us? Sleep in the guest room?" Rosalee suggests, giving Monroe a questioning glance, who nods.

 

"Yeah, you know you're always welcome." The Blutbad assures.

 

"I.. Yeah, sure." He shrugs, they all get up and head towards the door. Nick grabs his keys and his phone on the way out, turning back as he observes the house for a second more. It's filled with pictures and memories of a life that's shattering around him, and has been for quite a long time.

 

"Coming, Nick?" Monroe asks from the bottom porch step.

 

"Yeah.. Right behind you." He mumbles, turning off the light and closing the door. He wonders to himself if it would work out, a Hexenbiest and a Grimm... It breaks his heart when the voice of reason in the back of his mind (that often sounds a lot like Monroe and Rosalee at times) whispers to him that there was no hope of salvaging what he once had.

 

 

 


	2. Make Your Heart Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick tries to make things right, how can they go so wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Got a good response so I made another chapter)
> 
> (Some people getting mad at NICK for this recent argument.. Um, excuse me? Did you not see Juliette verbally harass Nick and exploit his fears? I mean, I know she's chasing him off purposely.. But that's a seriously bitchy move to hurt someone in that way.. Someone who loves and trusts you. And the Juliette hate escalates.. Man, I hate the Juliette/Nick dynamic, but liked Juliette herself. But now? Nah, son... She attacked my baby, she's on my list.)

Nick spends the night at Monroe and Rosalee's house, sleeping fitfully for a few hours in their guest room. He has nightmares of grayish wrinkled skin, gnarled teeth, red hair turning a pale gray. He wakes up gasping for air, gasping her name.

 

He heads to the house, finds it empty. He sits on the couch, pulls his phone out. He dials her, pressing his cell to his ear.

 

"Nick, I don't think it's a good idea to be in contact with each other right now." Juliette answers.

 

"Neither do Monroe and Rosalee, but I need us to try and fix this.." He whispers.

 

"Wait, you told Monroe and Rosalee?" Her voice is accusing.

 

"After you left.. I was freaking out, Rosalee called it an anxiety attack.. I called them. Dunno, I was scared." He murmurs.

 

"Scared of _me_." She snaps, he nods.

 

"I'm sorry, I'll get used to it... I want to get used to it." He explains.

 

"I'll be over there soon, we can't do this over the phone." She hangs up, he waits.

 

-

 

"We can't be together, Nick." Juliette is telling him, he's pleading with her.

 

"Why not? Juliette, you want to throw it all away because of this?" He asks quietly.

 

"Grimms and Hexenbiests do not mix. That's a combination for trouble." She says.

 

"It's like you don't even care!" Nick shouts, angry.

 

"Maybe I don't! Maybe I've been looking for an out since I got fucking kidnapped by some crazy ass psycho girl!" She snarls.

 

"You're lying..." He shakes his head, hands balling into fists.

 

"I'm stuck as a Hexenbiest, Nick.. No way out, might as well just accept that." She mutters.

 

"But what if I can't?" He grabs her, pulling her close, kissing her. He squeezes his eyes shut, puts all his emotion into this one embrace.

 

The softness of her lips disappear into cracked and dry skin, Nick scrambles away from her. He falls over the coffee table, hitting the floor, staring up at her.

 

"I'm tired of screwing around, Nick! You will never be able to accept me like this! We're through!" She shouts, face fully woged.

 

There's that feeling again, creeping up on him, chest tightening. His vision blurs a little, inhaling deeply but no air is enough to soothe his nerves. A hand touches his shoulder, he twists away from it, scooting back. He wants to snap, to shout for Juliette not to touch him, she should just leave and never come back. But his chest aches and his lungs burn, so he just hides his face behind his arms, curling his knees to his chest.

 

He wants to die, wants to curl up and die. This relationship was really over, for real. She was done with him, his dream girl wasn't going to have his kids, or grow old with him.

 

He can hear talking, muffled talking, somewhere beyond the barriers he's created between himself and the world.

 

How much time has passed? A minute? An hour? He's not sure, but he's still curled up tight, wishing for this all to be a dream. A shitty nightmare that he needs to wake up from, his chest is sore, and it hurts to breathe, but at least he _can_ breathe now. There are tears behind his eyelids, a lump in his throat that says one word means a complete breakdown.

 

"Nick?" The voice is a little tinny, like he's listening to it through a tunnel.

 

"Nick, Juliette's gone... You're all right.." A hand presses against the top of his head, smoothing his hair over a little.

 

She's _gone_ , poof... Out of his life.. That doesn't make him feel any better.

 

"Nick, this really is a good thing.. I promise you." It's Monroe, his deep voice a soothing lull to his panic. He peeks out from beneath his arms at Monroe, who's kneeling in front of him. Rosalee's sitting on the coffee table behind him. True to Monroe's word, Juliette is gone.

 

"Juliette thinks this is for the best, and I think you should trust her on that.." The Blutbad tells him, running a hand through his hair gently. Stupid, this is so stupid... He's in pieces because Juliette broke up with him, what sort of Grimm was he?

 

"Don't you dare, Nick Burkhardt. I can spot a look of self-hatred on your face from a mile away." Rosalee scolds lightly, holding out her hand.

 

"C'mon, we're going home." She tells him, he reaches out and takes her hand. Monroe takes his other hand, he stands up. The first thing he does, he grabs hold of them both and pulls them close.

 

"Thank you.." He whispers.

 

"Any time, Nick." Monroe pats his back, he might be imagining the way Monroe's lips brush the top of his head, or the way Rosalee's sort of scenting his neck from her position... But then again, maybe he's not.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yo I finished writing this chapter before the other day's episode... And I completely called the whole Nick calling Juliette to talk, I feel like I'm spot on level with his personality XDD)

**Author's Note:**

> (Sad, huh? Well, hope you enjoyed!)


End file.
